Will Austin, 21, claimed he was racially abused while cutting a knot from a gumtree to make a traditional smoking bowl. Mr Austin said had permission from Dja Dja Warrung elders to create traditional tools from wood on the land.

“My passion is crafting traditional tools and instruments. Being out on country and connecting to my Indigenous culture is something I value a lot,” he said.

“I am just overwhelmed by the response from the community and I want the positive out of it to over-shine that one negative little situation.”

Mr Austin has been vocal in advocating for indigenous rights, working with young people in indigenous affairs and participating in indigenous rights movements and protests. He said he had run cultural workshops and been involved in indigenous organisations outside of Daylesford, but the experience of racial abuse triggered a desire to share his culture in his home town.

“Too often people think that Aboriginal culture is dead, it’s gone and it doesn’t exist. One of the abusive comments was ‘your culture is not alive, it doesn’t exist’, so I am taking that as a bit of motivation to show people that it is alive – to run the workshops and to educate community,” Mr Austin said.

“It is not about me teaching everyone the right way or everything to do with Aboriginal culture, I think it is more about just creating that space for people to come together. Our culture is all about connecting with each other and being on the same level and people having a space to share their stories, so I think just being able to create that safe space for the community is something that will be of huge value.”

Mr Austin is currently in the process of discussing ideas for indigenous cultural workshops with those interested and working to organise the meetings.